Two Little Hitlers Will Fight It Out
January 5, 2026
by William P. Meyers

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Trump is a New Hitler

Adolf Hitler. Still the most famous man of the 20th century. We all know President Donald Trump's main motivation is fame. His narcissism demands worship by others, not just admiring his own reflection in a mirror.

The title for today's essay comes from an Elvis Costello song, Two Little Hitlers (lyrics), from his Armed Forces album.

Leftists (and even the center-left) have accused Trump of fascism, though it is certainly not the classical fascism of Mussolini and Hitler. Then again Trump accused everyone who does not vote for him as being a "left-wing communist" as if communist requires the adjective left-wing to put it in its proper place.

So. Venezuela. The Don-Roe Doctrine. Note I am not a fan of Nicolas Maduro, though I have socialist friends who have defended him in the past. He is the sort of authoritarian and incompetent socialist that gives Socialism a bad name. Just as Trump is the sort of authoritarian and incompetent capitalist who gives capitalism a bad name.

Adolf Hitler was able to take over Germany (Deutschland) in 1933 after the Weimar Republic fell apart. It was a long struggle for him, starting in 1919 when he joined what would soon become the Nazi Party. He consolidated power in Germany, then asserted his will on other nations. He had emulated Mussolini, but made Benito his servant. He took back parts of Germany that had been stripped from it after it lost World War I. Then he split Poland with his communist rival Joe Stalin. Then the German military took France. Dominoes continued to fall until Stalin's troops stopped the German Army, notably at Stalingrad and Leningrad. When Germany was clearly losing the war the British Empire and United States swooped in to prevent the communists from taking over Europe. [military deaths in Europe: U.S. 250,000; U.K. 384,000; U.S.S.R. 8,700,000]

Of course we are not sure what President Trump will do in Venezuela. At the moment he appears to hope that Delcy Rodriguez will be his dancing partner. He reserves the right to send in troops if she wants to Salsa when he orders her to YMCA.

Trump has threatened other nations, notably Canada, Mexico, Greenland, and Cuba. Cuba, admittedly, has its own little Hitler. Earlier in the Trump regime most of us thought he was just bluffing, trying to get better deals for himself, his family, and his capitalist boot lickers. Now we cannot be so sure.

How do resist a Hitler? Nothing worked in Germany. The American situation remains a bit different, but even if the Democratic Party shows some backbone it is usually lacking, working within the system may not work. Will we have a civil war, with Blue States refusing to suck Trump off? Is it even possible, in the U.S., anymore, to have the type of widespread, outside the electoral parties, rebellion we saw in the late 1960s?

Leftists in the U.S. usually portray Hitler as a capitalist stooge, while the right labels him socialist. The reality was much more complex. Above all Hitler was a nationalist. Nationalism still runs strong in America. Donald Trump is counting on it to retain popular support. Old Bonespurs is not likely to make the mistake of the Vietnam War, drafting young men into an unpopular war, thus swelling the ranks of the anti-war and leftist movements.

A lot depends on the economy. If it falls apart, or even if inflation re-accelerates this year, Trump and his Republican order-followers may lose Congress in the 2026 election. Or they may do what Maduro did: lose in the ballot boxes but declare themselves the winners anyway. Hopefully there are still enough honest people out there at the state level to get honest results.

Don't count out the possibility that the Democrats will run a lousy campaign and loose of their own accord. Or a third, lefty party could cut into their vote. That is one of the elements that led to Hitler's triumph: the communists refused to support the social democrats in elections or in the Reichstag.

History often repeats itself. Let's all hold our noses and vote against Trump this fall. If he accepts a Republican loss in Congress, and that he can't rule by decree, our democratic republic may survive a few more years.